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1 Chapter 7. PLUSES AND MINUSES CREATING OR IMPROVING RHETORICAL FIGURES With one of the most beautiful poetic parts of Scripture before him, the Greek translator of the book of Isaiah was faced with a challenging task. This makes one wonder how he was to deal with the special nature of his text. Was he to be concerned to reflect the poetic features of the Hebrew in his translation? And what role might have been played by the rules concerning style and literature current in his own time? Hardly any investigations have yet been made into this stylistic or poetic aspect of the LXX of Isaiah. When scholars did acknowledge it, it was often in a negative way. The LXX translator would have disregarded the norms of Hebrew poetry, neglecting parallelism and repetition and correcting poetic ellipsis. 1 Yet, is this negative judgement of the translator s attitude towards poetry justifiable? Or have LXX Isaiah s literary qualities been underestimated for a long time? In the present chapter I will search for answers to these intriguing questions. 7.1 LXX Isaiah and classical rhetoric In the Hellenistic times in which the translator of Isaiah was living the system which was providing contemporary rules and norms regarding literature was the discipline of classical rhetoric. Classical rhetoric had developed in Ancient Greece in the fifth and fourth centuries B.C.E. as the art of public speaking. As such, it was used especially in the civic life of the Athenian democracy. The main purpose of rhetoric was to persuade the public. But persuasion meant more than converting people to a certain idea. Teaching, entertaining and impressing the public were also part of this spectrum. Whereas at first rhetoric was specifically concerned with oral skills and public speaking, in Hellenistic times attention shifted towards written texts. This shift is sometimes called the letteraturizzazione: the adaptation of rhetoric to literary compositions. From then on, the purpose of rhetoric no longer consisted of persuasion, but of narration, the act of putting ideas into words. 2 The influence of rhetoric on literary composition was, according to the classicist 1 See e.g. Fischer, In welcher Schrift, 7: Für den Parallelismus hatte er wenig Empfinden ; Ziegler, Untersuchungen, 51: An vielen Stellen unterläßt die LXX ein synonymes Wort im parallelen Satzglied; sie legt also keinen besonderen Wert auf den parallelen Satzbau. Baer, When We All Go Home, 24: He routinely discards the intricate parallelism that he discovers in Hebrew Isaiah, collapsing poetic structures into an abbreviated prose that usually says much the same thing, but without the poetic balance or repetition of his source. On the other hand, we shall see that this disregard for the norms of Hebrew poetry is not confined to abridgement. With roughly the same frequency, he expands the text vis-à-vis the MT in order to correct poetic ellipsis His text has moved him, but not in the direction of literary appreciation. The Isaiah translator has been taken more seriously in this respect by Le Moigne and van der Louw. Le Moigne offers an extensive treatment of the figure of chiasmus in LXX Isaiah (Le Moigne, Livre d Ésaïe, ). Van der Louw pays attention to the stylistic side of the translation in his analysis of LXX Isa 1: The translator occasionally goes beyond naturalness and aims for ease and beauty of style, which brings him within the realm of ancient rhetorica (van der Louw, Transformations, 196). At the same time, van der Louw thinks that from a stylistic point of view the text does not stand out as ornate ( Transformations, 129). 2 George A. Kennedy, Classical Rhetoric and its Christian and Secular Tradition from Ancient to Modern Times (rev. and enl. ed.; Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1999), 1 3,

2 CHAPTER SEVEN George Kennedy, a striking feature of Greek and Latin literature from the first century B.C.E. to late antiquity. It is displayed, for instance, in the use of topics, the presentation of ethos and pathos, in patterns of arrangement, in features of declamation, and above all, in the application of tropes, figures, and sententiae. 3 It was also during this Hellenistic period that ancient rhetoric was crystallized into a detailed system. It was divided into five main categories, one of which was called style. Style concerned the choice and combination of words into clauses, periods, and figures. One of the subcategories of style involved the ornamentation of a text. A text could be ornamented by the use of tropes and figures. In a trope one word is replaced by a different word with a distinct, but semantically related meaning. An example of a trope is the metaphor (e.g. I am the bread of life, John 6:35). Figures, on the other hand, relate to the combination of words. Some well-known examples of figures are repetition, parallelism, asyndeton and ellipsis. 4 In the Greek translation of Isaiah we find many such rhetorical figures. Often they already existed in the Hebrew text and were simply transposed into the translation, but at other times they were modified by the translator or even introduced into the text by him. There is of course always the possibility that these apparent changes already existed in the Hebrew Vorlage of the translator, but in view of the large number of them, they would rather seem to indicate a tendency on the part of the translator to enhance the rhetorical nature of the text. The fascinating question arises of whether the Isaiah translator, living as he did in a Hellenistic period and area, was familiar with the Greek terminology for these rhetorical figures and the classical rules concerning their use. Or, alternatively, did he know these figures only from the Hebrew Bible? In my opinion, it is certainly possible that he was acquainted with rhetorical rules and terminology, for he is likely to have been a learned person, moving in intellectual Alexandrian circles, familiar not only with Jewish literature, but also with Greek literary art. 5 This is supported by the fact that the Isaiah translator was writing in good Koinē Greek, as was pointed out by Thackeray more than a century ago. 6 In the present chapter I will offer a number of the many examples I have found of rhetorical figures which have been modified, and no doubt in his opinion improved, by the Greek translator of Isaiah, as well as some created by him. In this I have confined myself to cases in which the improvement or creation of the figure has been accomplished by an apparent addition to or an omission from the underlying Hebrew text, that is the pluses and minuses. Without this restriction, many more examples could be given of rhetorical figures in LXX Isaiah. 3 Kennedy, Classical Rhetoric, Galen O. Rowe, Chapter 5, Style, in Handbook of Classical Rhetoric in the Hellenistic Period 330 B.C. A.D. 400 (ed. Stanley E. Porter; Leiden: Brill, 1997), For the idea that the LXX Isaiah translator was a learned scribe, see e.g. van der Kooij, Textzeugen, 66; idem, Oracle of Tyre, (for a summary of van der Kooij s view, see further section 10.1). See also Troxel, LXX-Isaiah as Translation, e.g ; Troxel believes that the Isaiah translator was influenced by the Alexandrian scholars of his time, called the γραµµατικοί, who had their centre of research in the Alexandrian Museum. 6 Henry St. J. Thackeray, The Greek Translators of the Prophetical Books, JTS 4 (1903): 583; idem, A Grammar of the Old Testament in Greek according to the Septuagint 1. Introduction, Orthography and Accidence (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1909),

3 RHETORICAL FIGURES For denoting figures I will use the terminology of classical rhetoric. This is not to suggest that I am certain of the translator having known this terminology, but merely because these classical terms are in common usage to define literary figures. 7.2 Division of figures In ancient rhetoric, figures are classified into three principle groups: 7 (a) Figures of addition (adiectio) (b) Figures of omission (detractio). (c) Figures of transposition (transmutatio). These are subdivided in the following way: 8 A. Word figures of addition (adiectio): - Repetition - Repetition of the same words, e.g.: Geminatio 9 Inclusio Anaphora Epiphora Reduplicatio - Repetition of words with relaxed word-equivalence, e.g.: Annominatio Polyptoton and derivatio Synonymia - Accumulation - Coordinating accumulation, e.g.: Enumeratio Distributio - Subordinating accumulation, e.g.: Epitheton Polysyndeton B. Word figures of omission (detractio), e.g.: Ellipsis Zeugma Asyndeton C. Word figures of transposition (transmutatio), e.g.: Parallelism Chiasmus Tricolon 7 Lausberg, Handbuch, 1:310 ( 606); Rowe, Style, This division is based upon Lausberg s exposition of word figures; see Lausberg, Handbuch, 1: ( ). 9 For a discussion on geminatio in LXX Isaiah, see section

4 CHAPTER SEVEN This classification will be used as a starting-point in the next discussion on the formation and expansion of word figures in the LXX of Isaiah. Beside figures at word level, at the end of this chapter one stylistic device at another level will shortly be dealt with, that is the repetition of sentences (see section 7.6). 7.3 Word figures of addition Word figures of addition are created either by the repetition of equivalent words or word groups, or by the accumulation of different words or word groups Repetition The frequent repetition of words is a characteristic feature of Biblical Hebrew literature. Repetition was also part of Greek theories about the ornamentation of a text, though to a lesser degree. Words could be repeated in order to draw attention to a passage and to imbue it with strength and pathos. 11 They could be repeated in exactly the same form, but also with a variation in inflexion (polyptoton) or conjugation (derivatio). Besides, repetition can pertain to words which are (almost) identical in form but different in meaning (paronomasia), as well as to words having a different form but a similar meaning (synonymia). 12 It can be found at the beginning, middle or end of a (syntactical or metrical) unity that is superior to the repeated element; this unity can be a clause, colon, or verse, but also a strophe or a group of verses. 13 The LXX of Isaiah contains plenty of examples of repetition, of which a significant number appears to have been invented or modified by the translator, through the addition of words or phrases. In the continuation of this paragraph some examples will be listed, and grouped according to the kind of repetition they exhibit Repetition of the same words When words with the same form and the same meaning are repeated, the equivalence of the repetition implies an emotive redundancy: the first position of the word has the normal semantic informative function, the second placing of the same word presupposes the informative function of the first placing, and has a reinforcing emotive function beyond the merely informative. 14 Repetition of identical words can take several forms, among which inclusio, anaphora, epiphora, and reduplicatio. 10 Lausberg, Handbuch, 1:310 ( 607). 11 Lausberg, Handbuch, 1:311 ( 612). 12 Lausberg, Handbuch, 1: ( ). 13 Heinrich Lausberg, Elemente der literarischen Rhetorik. Eine Einführung für Studierende der klassischen, romanischen, englischen und deutschen Philologie (3rd ed.; München: Hueber, 1967), Heinrich Lausberg, Handbook of Literary Rhetoric. A Foundation for Literary Study (ed. David E. Orton and R. Dean Anderson; trans. Matthew T. Bliss, Annemiek Jansen, and David E. Orton; Leiden: Brill, 1998), 275 ( 612). 142

5 RHETORICAL FIGURES a. Inclusio Inclusio 15 is a form of repetition, in which the same word or phrase is used at the beginning as well as at the end of a clause or a verse, thus forming a parenthesis. 16 In the Hebrew Bible we encounter many cases of inclusio. In Biblical poetry this was an important figure of speech, used to demarcate poetic unities. 17 The examples below demonstrate that the translator of Isaiah did not only recognise this figure, but also improved and sometimes even established new cases of inclusio. The first example of the creation of an inclusio occurs in Isa 17:6, a text in which the remnant of Israel is compared to some berries left on the branches of an olive tree: 17:6 καὶ καταλειφθῇ ἐν αὐτῇ καλάµη ἢ ὡς ῥῶγες ἐλαίας δύο ἢ τρεῖς ἐπ ἄκρου µετεώρου ἢ τέσσαρες ἢ πέντε ἐπὶ τῶν κλάδων αὐτῶν καταλειφθῇ. Due to the addition of καταλειφθῇ this word forms a parenthesis around the verse. Moreover, it has provided the verse with a chiastic arrangement: A καὶ καταλειφθῇ B δύο ἢ τρεῖς ἐπ ἄκρου µετεώρου B ἢ τέσσαρες ἢ πέντε ἐπὶ τῶν κλάδων αὐτῶν A καταλειφθῇ At both extremities of the verse we see the verb καταλειφθῇ, while in the centre the parallel phrases δύο ἢ τρεῖς ἐπ and ἢ τέσσαρες ἢ πέντε ἐπί are found. It is not just a clause or a verse, but also a larger division of the text that can be framed by an inclusio, such as a strophe or a stanza. In Isa 13:9 13 an example can be discovered of the framing of a stanza, consisting of two strophes: ἰδοὺ γὰρ ἡµέρα κυρίου ἀνίατος ἔρχεται θυµοῦ καὶ ὀργ ργῆς θεῖναι τὴν οἰκουµένην ὅλην ἔρηµον καὶ τοὺς ἁµαρτωλοὺς ἀπολέσαι ἐξ αὐτῆς. οἱ γὰρ ἀστέρες τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ὁ Ὠρίων καὶ πᾶς ὁ κόσµος τοῦ οὐρανοῦ τὸ φῶς οὐ δώσουσι, καὶ σκοτισθήσεται τοῦ ἡλίου ἀνατέλλοντος καὶ ἡ σελήνη οὐ δώσει τὸ φῶς αὐτῆς. καὶ ἐντελοῦµαι τῇ οἰκουµένῃ ὅλῃ κακὰ καὶ τοῖς ἀσεβέσι τὰς ἁµαρτίας αὐτῶν καὶ ἀπολῶ ὕβριν ἀνόµων καὶ ὕβριν ὑπερηφάνων ταπεινώσω. καὶ ἔσονται οἱ καταλελειµµένοι ἔντιµοι καὶ ὁ ἄνθρωπος µᾶλλον ἔντιµος ἔσται ὁ γὰρ οὐρανὸς θυµωθήσεται διὰ θυµὸν ὀργ ργῆς κυρίου σαβαωθ µᾶλλον ἢ τὸ χρυσίον τὸ ἄπυρον, ἢ ὁ λίθος ὁ ἐκ Σουφιρ. καὶ ἡ γῆ σεισθήσεται ἐκ τῶν θεµελίων αὐτῆς τῇ ἡµέρ µέρᾳ, ᾗ ἂν ἐπέλθ πέλθῃ ὁ θυµὸς αὐτοῦ. 15 Other names for the same figure are epanalepsis, prosapodosis, epanadiplosis, and redditio ; see Lausberg, Handbuch, 1:317 ( 625); Josef Martin, Antike Rhetorik. Technik und Methode (HdA 3; München: Beck, 1974), 301, 303; Rowe, Style, 130; Gideon O. Burton, Silva Rhetoricae, n.p. [cited 28 april 2009]. Online: 16 Lausberg, Handbuch, 1: ( ). 17 See e.g. Jan Fokkelman, Dichtkunst in de bijbel. Een handleiding bij literair lezen (Zoetermeer: Meinema, 2000), ,

6 CHAPTER SEVEN The two strophes in LXX Isaiah 13:9 13 have as their subject the coming of the day of the Lord. Their arrangement exhibits a chiastic ABC/C B A pattern: A The day of the Lord (v.9a) B What will happen to heaven and earth (vv.9b 10) C What will happen to the sinful people (v.11) C What will happen to the pious people (v.12) B What will happen to heaven and earth (v.13a) A The day of the Lord (v.13b) The five verses are framed by a clause on the day of the Lord, which, as mentioned, forms,יהוה,יום their subject. A similar framing is also present in the Hebrew text. There the words v.13b: which appeared in v.9a, are reiterated in,אף and,עברה 13:9a ועברה וחרון אף הנה יום יהוה בא אכזרי 13:13b ביום חרון אפו בעברת יהוה צבאות In LXX Isaiah, however, this inclusio has been further strengthened. This has been achieved by way of the addition in v.13b of two extra words corresponding to expressions in v.9, namely ὀργῆς and ἐπέλθῃ (cf. in v.9 ὀργῆς and ἔρχεται). A second illustration of an inclusio framing a larger unit occurs in LXX Isa 49: In this beautiful passage God compares himself to a woman, who will never forget her child: 49:14 15 Εἶπε δὲ δ Σιων Ἐγκατέλιπέ µε κύριος, καὶ ὁ κύριος ἐπελάθετό µου. 15 µὴ ἐπιλήσεται γυνὴ τοῦ παιδίου αὐτῆς 18 τοῦ µὴ ἐλεῆσαι τὰ ἔκγονα τῆς κοιλίας αὐτῆς; εἰ δὲ καὶ ἐπιλάθοιτο ταῦτα γυνή, ἀλλ ἐγὼ οὐκ ἐπιλήσοµαί σου, εἶπε κύριος. Again these verses display a chiastic structure. This structure emphasises the contradiction between, on the one hand, what Sion says, and, on the other hand, what God says. In the LXX this structure has been extended by the addition of εἶπε κύριος at the end, which forms an inclusio with Εἶπε δὲ Σιων at the beginning. Schematically the chiasmus can be depicted in the following way: 18 I have offered here the reading of Rahlfs, who gives µὴ ἐπιλήσεται γυνὴ τοῦ παιδίου αὐτῆς. The Göttingen edition, however, has chosen the alternative attestation µήτηρ instead of γυνή. This might reflect the more original reading, since γυνή could be a correction in line with the MT. Nevertheless, it is equally possible that the reading with µήτηρ is the outcome of a later adjustment for the sake of content, as the clause Will a mother forget her child sounds more natural than Will a woman forget her child. The Alexandrian recension is divided on this issue. Part of it (e.g. A) attests to µήτηρ and another part (e.g. Q and S) to γυνή. 144

7 RHETORICAL FIGURES A Εἶπε δὲ Σιων B ὁ κύριος ἐπελάθετό µου. C ἐπιλήσεται γυνή C ἐπιλάθοιτο γυνή B ἐγὼ οὐκ ἐπιλήσοµαί σου A εἶπε κύριος. Verse 14 introduces Sion as speaker (A) and formulates the thought of Sion that the Lord has forgotten her (B); v.15a is a rhetorical question: Could a woman ever forget her child? (C); v.15b focuses on the statement, that, even if a mother could forget her child (C ), God would not forget Sion (B ). The verse then concludes by identifying the one speaking in v.15 as the Lord himself (A ). In the Greek text there is yet another plus which articulates the chiastic structure: in C the אשה noun γυνή seems to have been added, parallel to γυνή in C. In the Hebrew we find the equivalent of γυνή only in the C part, and not in C. On the contrary, C in the.(גם אלה תשכחנה) Hebrew text refers to a plural feminine subject Two additional illustrations of inclusio come from 19:18 and 25:1: 19:18 Πόλις ασεδεκ κληθήσεται ἡ µία πόλις. 25:1 Κύριε ὁ θεός µου, δοξάσω σε, ὑµνήσω τὸ ὄνοµά σου, ὅτι ἐποίησας θαυµαστὰ πράγµατα, βουλὴν ἀρχαίαν ἀληθινήν γένοιτο, κύριε. b. Anaphora Anaphora 19 is the repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning of successive verses, clauses, or commata. It may also occur at the beginning of unities superior to verses, such as strophes or stanzas. This kind of repetition can give a strong emotional effect to the text. 20 In the LXX of Isaiah I could detect more than twenty cases of anaphora that are extra to or more extensive than the MT: 2:6 8 6 ὅτι ἐνεπλήσθη ὡς τὸ ἀπ ἀρχῆς ἡ χώρα αὐτῶν α κληδονισµῶν ὡς ἡ τῶν ἀλλοφύλων, καὶ τέκνα πολλὰ ἀλλόφυλα ἐγενήθη αὐτοῖς. 7 ἐνεπλήσθη γὰρ ἡ χώρα αὐτῶν α ἀργυρίου καὶ χρυσίου, καὶ οὐκ ἦν ἀριθµὸς τῶν θησαυρῶν αὐτῶν καὶ ἐνεπλήσθη ἡ γῆ ἵππων, καὶ οὐκ ἦν ἀριθµὸς τῶν ἁρµάτων αὐτῶν 19 Also called epanaphora, or epibole. 20 Lausberg, Handbuch, 1: ( ); Edward P. J. Corbett, Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student (New York: Oxford University Press, 1965),

13 RHETORICAL FIGURES its position at the end of the sentence. 32 In LXX Isaiah I found among fifteen examples of this figure created or extended by the translator: 24:3 6 In 24:3 6 a passage that describes the destruction of the earth the noun ארץ / γῆ often turns up at the end of the clause, with the Greek mirroring the repetition in the Hebrew. But in v.3 the translator inserts yet another γῆ in that position, thus expanding the epiphora. Besides γῆ one can repeatedly find derivations of οἰκέω at the end of the lines: see vv.4b, 5a, 6b and 6c. 3 φθορᾷ φθαρήσεται ἡ γῆ, καὶ προνοµῇ προνοµευθήσεται ἡ γῆ τὸ γὰρ στόµα κυρίου ἐλάλησε ταῦτα. 4 ἐπένθησεν ἡ γῆ, καὶ ἐφθάρη ἡ οἰκουµένη, ἐπένθησαν οἱ ὑψηλοὶ τῆς ς γῆς. γ 5 ἡ δὲ γῆ ἠνόµησε διὰ τοὺς κατοικοῦντας αὐτήν, διότι παρέβησαν τὸν νόµον καὶ ἤλλαξαν τὰ προστάγµατα, διαθήκην αἰώνιον. 6 διὰ τοῦτο ἀρὰ ἔδεται τὴν γῆν, γ ὅτι ἡµάρτοσαν οἱ κατοικοῦντες αὐτήν διὰ τοῦτο πτωχοὶ ἔσονται οἱ ἐνοικοῦντες ἐν τῇ γῇ, καὶ καταλειφθήσονται ἄνθρωποι ὀλίγοι. 33:7 ἄγγελοι γὰρ ἀποσταλήσονται ἀξιοῦντες εἰρήνην πικρῶς κλαίοντες παρακαλοῦντες εἰρήνην ρήνην. מלאכי שלום The LXX deviates widely from the Hebrew, which offers the much shorter text The verse is beautifully composed in the Greek. It includes two bicola, the second.מר יבכיון parts of which are parallel in form and both end with εἰρήνην. In the first bicolon there is alliteration of the ἀ, and in the second of the π :5 οὗτος ἐρεῖ Τοῦ θεοῦ εἰµι µι, καὶ οὗτος βοήσεται ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόµατι Ιακωβ, καὶ ἕτερος ἐπιγράψει Τοῦ θεοῦ εἰµι µι, ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόµατι Ισραηλ. The four lines of this verse alternate as regards their final words. This has been achieved by means of the addition of εἰµί in the third line, and the omission of יכנה in the final line: זה יאמר ליהוה אני MT: וזה יקרא בשם יעקב וזה יכתב ידו ליהוה ובשם ישראל יכנה 32 Lausberg, Handbuch, 1: ( ); Corbett, Classical Rhetoric, On the use of alliteration in the LXX, see Takamitsu Muraoka, Literary Device in the Septuagint, Textus 8 (1973),

14 CHAPTER SEVEN A second omission from the Hebrew concerns the noun phrase.ידו By means of its deletion the third clause has become more parallel to the second one. 45:4 5 ἕνεκεν Ιακωβ τοῦ παιδός µου καὶ Ισραηλ τοῦ ἐκλεκτοῦ µου ἐγὼ καλέσω σε τῷ ὀνόµατί σου καὶ προσδέξοµαί σε, σὺ δὲ οὐκ ἔγνως µε. ὅτι ἐγὼ κύριος ὁ θεός, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἔτι πλὴν ἐµοῦ θεός, καὶ οὐκ ᾔδεις µε While the sixth and seventh lines close with θεός (which is once a plus), the fifth and eighth lines have µε (preceded by a verb in the sense of to know ) as their final expression. As a consequence, the concluding words of these four lines form a chiasmus: οὐκ ἔγνως µε / θεός // θεός / οὐκ ᾔδεις µε. Also the first four lines resemble as regards the end words: µου / µου / σου / σε. 46:4 ἕως γήρους ἐγώ εἰµι ε µι, ἐγὼ ἀνέχοµαι ὑµῶν, καὶ ἐγὼ ἀνήσω, καὶ ἕως ἂν καταγηράσητε, ἐγώ εἰµι ε µι ἐγὼ ἐποίησα ἐγὼ ἀναλήµψοµαι καὶ σώσω ὑµᾶς. In the LXX an epiphora has been produced by means of the addition of ἐγώ εἰµι at the end of the first bicolon. Besides the epiphora there is also an anaphora to be found in this verse: ἕως is repeated at the beginning of both parts of the first bicolon, and ἐγώ at the beginning of both parts of the second and third bicola. Even though the Hebrew text also contains anaphora, the repetition of words has been increased by the translator. 51:13 καὶ ἐφόβου ἀεὶ πάσας τὰς ἡµέρας τὸ πρόσωπον τοῦ θυµοῦ τοῦ θλίβοντός σε ὃν τρόπον γὰρ ἐβουλεύσατο τοῦ ἆραί σε, καὶ νῦν ποῦ ὁ θυµὸς ς τοῦ θλίβοντός σε; 52:1 2 1 Ἐξεγείρου ἐξεγείρου, Σιων, ἔνδυσαι τὴν ἰσχύν σου, Σιων, καὶ ἔνδυσαι τὴν δόξαν σου, Ιερουσαληµ πόλις ἡ ἁγία ἁ γία οὐκέτι προστεθήσεται διελθεῖν διὰ σοῦ ἀπερίτµητος καὶ ἀκάθαρτος. 2 ἐκτίναξαι τὸν χοῦν καὶ ἀνάστηθι κάθισον, Ιερουσαληµ ἔκδυσαι τὸν δεσµὸν τοῦ τραχήλου σου, ἡ αἰχµάλωτος θυγάτηρ Σιων. The LXX of Isa 52:1 2 comprises a pattern of imperatives plus vocatives concerning Sion/Jerusalem: 152

15 RHETORICAL FIGURES A 2x imperative + Σιων x B 1x imp. ἔνδυσαι τὴν ἰσχύν σου + Σιων x B 1x imp. ἔνδυσαι τὴν δόξαν σου + Ιερουσαληµ πόλις ἡ ἁγία y X middle clause without imperative A 3x imperative + Ιερουσαληµ y B 1x imp. ἔκδυσαι τὸν δεσµὸν τοῦ τραχήλου σου + ἡ αἰχµάλωτος θυγάτηρ Σιων x There are three clauses, indicated as B in the outline above, that each contain only one imperative, which in all three cases is derived from ἐκ/ἐνδύω (by contrast, the Hebrew shows two different roots: עור and.(התפתח These imperatives are all followed by an object specified by the pronoun σου and are directed against respectively Σιων, Ιερουσαληµ πόλις ἡ ἁγία and ἡ αἰχµάλωτος θυγάτηρ Σιων. In between one finds two clauses indicated as A in the outline that both include more than one imperative, and are addressed to Σιων and Ιερουσαληµ. Due to the addition of Σιων at the end of the first line, all imperatives are accompanied by a vocative, each time at the very end of the sentence. A further stylistic detail in the Greek text is that in the second bicolon of v.1 the Hebrew does not have an equivalent in the translation. On account of this omission the בגדי parallelism with the preceding clause has been ameliorated: MT: LXX: לבשי עזך ציון לבשי בגדי תפארתך ירושלם עיר הקדש ἔνδυσαι τὴν ἰσχύν σου, Σιων, καὶ ἔνδυσαι ( ) τὴν δόξαν σου, Ιερουσαληµ πόλις ἡ ἁγία In the next few cases of epiphora words are repeated in a different inflexion (polyptoton) or conjugation (derivatio): 3:25 καὶ ὁ υἱός σου ὁ κάλλιστος, ὃν ἀγαπᾷς, µαχαίρᾳ πεσεῖται ται, καὶ οἱ ἰσχύοντες ὑµῶν µαχαίρᾳ πεσοῦνται νται. 5:29 ὁρµῶσιν ὡς λέοντες καὶ παρέστηκαν ὡς σκύµνος λέοντος 8:17 18 a b c d e f Μενῶ τὸν θεὸν τὸν ἀποστρέψαντα τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τοῦ οἴκου Ιακωβ καὶ πεποιθὼς ἔσοµαι ἐπ αὐτῷ. ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ καὶ τὰ παιδία, ἅ µοι ἔδωκεν ὁ θεός, καὶ ἔσται εἰς σηµεῖα καὶ τέρατα ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ Ισραηλ παρὰ κυρίου σαβαωθ, ὃς κατοικεῖ ἐν τῷ τ ὄρει Σιων. Lines b, e and f all close with a prepositional phrase referring to Israel. In b as well as e this phrase contains the noun οἴκος I present here the reading of Rahlfs. In the Göttingen edition οἴκῳ is absent in v.18, which probably reflects the original reading, since in the main part of the Alexandrian manuscripts οἴκῳ is missing. 153

17 RHETORICAL FIGURES A B C D E F G H Ὃν τρόπον πεπόρευται Ησαιας ὁ παῖς µου γυµνὸς καὶ ἀνυπόδετος τρία ἔτη, ἔσται σηµεῖα καὶ τέρατα τοῖς ς Αἰγυπτίοις καὶ Αἰθίοψιν ὅτι οὕτως ἄξει βασιλεὺς Ἀσσυρίων τὴν αἰχµαλωσίαν Αἰγύπτου καὶ Αἰθιόπων θιόπων, νεανίσκους καὶ πρεσβύτας, γυµνοὺς καὶ ἀνυποδέτους ἀνακεκαλυµµένους τὴν αἰσχύνην Αἰγύπτου. καὶ αἰσχυνθήσονται ἡττηθέντες οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι ἐπὶ τοῖς ς Αἰθίοψιν θίοψιν, ἐφ οἷς ἦσαν πεποιθότες οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι, ἦσαν γὰρ αὐτοῖς δόξα. MT: a ערום ויחף כאשר הלך עבדי ישעיהו b ועל כו שוש כ על מצרים שלש שנים אות ומופת c כו שוש כ ואת גלות מצרים את שבי כן ינהג מלך אשור d ערום ויחף נערים וזקנים e מצרים ערות וחשופי שת f תפארתם מצרים ומן כו שוש מבטם כ וחתו ובשו מ While the Hebrew gives a geographical name referring to Egypt and/or Ethiopia at the end (or nearly at the end) of four out of six successive bicola (and of five out of twelve successive cola), in LXX Isaiah the text has been changed in such a way that this repetition has received even more prominence: Firstly, the noun גלות governing כוש in the second part of the third bicolon in the MT (cβ) has no equivalent in the Greek, with as a consequence that Αἰγύπτου καὶ Αἰθιόπων are directly juxtaposed (see C). Something similar is achieved in the second part of the second bicolon (bβ), where the preposition before Ethiopia (על) is not represented, resulting in τοῖς Αἰγυπτίοις καὶ Αἰθίοψιν in the LXX (see B). Furthermore, in line f (=F) the LXX has added οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι, making this line conclude with two plural denominations of the Egyptians and the Ethiopians as well. Finally, the translator formed out of מבטם (in the MT the last word of fα) and ומן מצרים (in the MT the first words of fβ) a new clause, likewise ending with the Egyptians : ἐφ οἷς ἦσαν πεποιθότες οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι (G). Thanks to this inventiveness the LXX has three lines close with a phrase that combines in it (the) Egypt(ians) and the Ethiopians, while two end with only Egypt or the Egyptians. Aside from that, two lines have as their final words naked and barefoot. 30:20 21 καὶ οὐκέτι µὴ ἐγγίσωσίν σοι οἱ πλανῶντές ντές σε ὅτι οἱ ὀφθαλµοί σου ὄψονται τοὺς πλανῶντάς ντάς σε, καὶ τὰ ὦτά σου ἀκούσονται τοὺς λόγους τῶν ὀπίσω σε πλανησάντων The insertion of πλανησάντων in V.21 has produced a set of three cola that each end with a participle of πλανάω. The third participle phrase relates in a chiastic way to the first and second ones, as the object comes before rather than after the verb. The last example of epiphora concerns a case where the repeated words occur at the conclusion of consecutive strophes: 24:

19 RHETORICAL FIGURES and a chiastic arrangement of ἠρηµώθη / πόλις // πόλεις / ἔρηµοι. The words γῆ, εὐφροσύνη / εὐφραίνω, πᾶς, παύω and πενθέω are scattered throughout the entire passage. 36 d. Reduplicatio Reduplicatio 37 is the repetition of the last member of a syntactic or metrical word group at the beginning of the immediately following syntactic or metrical word group. 38 In LXX Isaiah fresh cases of this figure, generated by means of an addition, occur only sporadically: The first instance can be found in 3: The pronoun αὐτοῦ is resumed at the opening of the following sentence, even if in a different inflexion (polyptoton): 3:13 14 ἀλλὰ νῦν καταστήσεται εἰς κρίσιν κύριος καὶ στήσει εἰς κρίσιν τὸν λαὸν αὐτο τοῦ, αὐτὸς κύριος εἰς κρίσιν ἥξει µετὰ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων τοῦ λαοῦ καὶ µετὰ τῶν ἀρχόντων αὐτοῦ Equally noteworthy are the repetitions of (καθ)ίστηµι, µετά, and εἰς κρίσιν (the latter phrase recurs three times in the LXX of these verses, while in the MT it corresponds to three different phrases). The third line is chiastic in relation to the first one: καταστήσεται / εἰς κρίσιν / κύριος // αὐτὸς κύριος / εἰς κρίσιν / ἥξει. 14:13 καθιῶ ἐν ὄρει ὑψηλ ψηλῷ ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη τὰ ὑψηλ ψηλὰ τὰ πρὸς βορρᾶν Also in 14:13 the similar items in reduplicatio are repeated in a different inflexion. A third case of reduplicatio arrived at by an addition is afforded by 14:29, although this is not an entirely pure example, since the repeated words do not appear at the very end and the subsequent beginning of the two lines: 14:29 ἐκ γὰρ σπέρµατος ὄφεων ἐξελεύσεται ἔκγονα ἀσπίδων, καὶ τὰ ἔκγονα αὐτῶν ἐξελεύσονται ὄφεις πετόµενοι. e. Other forms of repetition of the same words Aside from the patterns described above, repetition can also appear in other forms, for instance, in the middle of successive sentences (sometimes called mesodiplosis ), at the beginning and middle of successive sentences ( mesarchia ), or at the end and middle of successive sentences ( mesoteleuton ). 39 The present paragraph will examine some examples 36 Another eye-catching detail of this passage is the frequent repetition of the π as the beginning sound of words: In 24:4 14 not less than 21 words start with the π. 37 Also called anadiplosis or epanadiplosis. 38 Lausberg, Handbuch, 1: ( ). 39 Cf. Ethelbert W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech Used in the Bible. Explained and Illustrated (London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1898; repr., Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Book House, 1968), 261; Burton, Silva Rhetoricae (rhetoric.byu.edu). 157

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